Chess game having camouflaged pieces

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a chess kit having a substantially flat playing surface with a plurality of spaces and a plurality of game pieces, each game piece being identical in shape and color to the other game pieces such that the game pieces are indistinguishable from one another when placed upright in a playing configuration, each piece having a marking on its bottom side with an indication of which type of chess piece the game piece has the movement characteristics of.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Traditional games of chess include two players situated on opposing side of game board having eight squares by eight squares laid out in a checkered pattern. One player has sixteen white game pieces, while the other has sixteen black game pieces—each player having one king, one queen, two bishops, two knights, two rooks, and eight pawns. Each piece has certain movement characteristics associated with it. Pawns, for example, may move two spaces forward the first time they are moved, one space forward any further time they are moved, and attack another player's pieces by moving one space diagonally. Rooks may move any number of unobstructed spaces forward, backward, or side to side, but may not move diagonally. Bishops may move any number of unobstructed spaces diagonally, but may not move forward, backward, or side to side. Queens may move any number of unobstructed spaces in any direction. Knights may move two spaces in any direction and one space in a direction 90 degrees from the first, and are the only pieces which may move unobstructed by any other intervening pieces. Kings, finally, may move just one space in any direction. The objective of chess is to capture the opposing player's king, which may be accomplished by capturing the opposing player's other pieces along the way.

Traditional games of chess, however, are based solely on predicting the opposing player's future moves. They do not require a player to remember any previous moves. It is therefore desired to develop a game of chess in which a player must also remember what each player's previous moves were so as to provide an additional challenge and strategy element. One such game is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,455 to Aldridge. Aldridge discloses a chess kit having pieces which are labeled on one side with the identity and are identical on the other. In one method of use, the players of the Aldridge game can see the identity of their own pieces but the opponent's pieces are obscured, requiring each player to remember the location of his opponent's pieces. In another method of use, the players of the Aldridge game can lay the pieces face down, so that their identities are hidden. However, the Aldridge game does not contemplate a method of play which does not differentiate one player's pieces from the other player's.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the present invention relates to a chess kit having a substantially flat playing surface with a plurality of spaces and a plurality of game pieces, each game piece being identical in shape and color to the other game pieces such that the game pieces are indistinguishable from one another when placed upright in a playing configuration, each piece having a marking on its bottom side with an indication of which type of chess piece the game piece has the movement characteristics of.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method for playing chess with indistinguishable game pieces, including a check piece rule, wherein a player states that he or she wishes to check the identity of a particular game piece, states his or her belief as to the identity of that game piece, and loses his or her next turn if the stated belief is incorrect.

A third aspect of the present invention relates to a method for playing chess with indistinguishable game pieces, including a check move rule, wherein a player states that he or she wishes to check the identity of the opponent's most recently moved game piece.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings embodiments which are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a chess kit in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of several game pieces of the chess kit of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenience only and is not limiting. Unless specifically set forth herein, the terms “a”, “an” and “the” are not limited to one element but instead should be read as meaning “at least one”. The words “right,” “left,” “lower,” and “upper” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “inwardly” or “distally” and “outwardly” or “proximally” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center or orientation of the device and instruments and related parts thereof. The terminology includes the above-listed words, derivatives thereof and words of similar import.

It should also be understood that the terms “about,” “approximately,” “generally,” “substantially” and like terms, used herein when referring to a dimension or characteristic of a component of the invention, indicate that the described dimension/characteristic is not a strict boundary or parameter and does not exclude minor variations therefrom that are functionally the same or similar, as would be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art. At a minimum, such references that include a numerical parameter would include variations that, using mathematical and industrial principles accepted in the art (e.g., rounding, measurement or other systematic errors, manufacturing tolerances, etc.), would not vary the least significant digit.

Referring to FIG. 1, a first preferred embodiment of a chess kit 10 is disclosed. The chess kit 10 preferably includes a substantially flat playing surface 12 having a plurality of spaces 14, which are preferably square in shape. The playing surface 12 preferably includes sixty-four (64) spaces 14 arranged in an eight by eight (8×8) configuration as shown in FIG. 1. The chess kit 10 further preferably includes a plurality of game pieces 16, more preferably at least thirty-two (32) game pieces 16, each game piece 16 being identical in shape and color to the other game pieces such that the game pieces are indistinguishable from one another when placed upright in a playing configuration.

As shown in FIG. 2, each game piece 16 is preferably marked on its bottom side with an indication of which type of chess piece the game piece 16 has the movement characteristics of, such as the white knight, black bishop, and black pawn that are shown. The marking of each game piece 16 may consist of words, as shown by the White Knight and Black Bishop in FIG. 2, a colored symbol, as shown by the black pawn in FIG. 2, or any other type of marking sufficient to identify each game piece 16. The markings may be painted on to each game piece 16, engraved in each game piece 16, or marked in any other way sufficient to make clear to a player which chess piece each game piece 16 corresponds to. The game pieces of the preferred chess kit 10 are preferably white in color and cylindrical in shape, but may be any color and shape suitable for designating game pieces 16 so long as each game piece 16 is identical.

The chess kit 10 is preferably used in accordance with traditional rules of chess, with certain additional rules described herein to account for players' inability to identify each game piece 16. One such rule is a check piece rule, wherein a player states that he or she wishes to check the identity of a particular game piece 16 to ensure the player's memory of the game piece 16 is correct, preferably by announcing “Check Piece” to the opposing player before taking his or her turn. The player then identifies a particular game piece 16 that he or she desires to check, states his or her belief as to the chess piece that the identified game piece 16 corresponds to, and inspects the bottom of the game piece 16 for confirmation of the game piece 16's identity. If the player is correct, he or she can proceed with his or her turn as normal, aided by the confirmation of his or her knowledge of the identity of that game piece 16. If the player is incorrect, he or she loses his or her turn and the opposing player is then allowed to make a move.

Another additional rule is a check move rule, wherein a player states that he or she wishes to check the identity of the opponent's most recently moved game piece 16 to ensure that the piece 16 was moved correctly, preferably by announcing “Check Move” at the conclusion of the opposing player's turn. This can be particularly significant if that piece 16 has just captured a game piece 16 owned by the checking player. The challenger is thus permitted to inspect the bottom of the opponent's most recently moved game piece 16 for confirmation of that piece 16's identity. If the game piece 16 was not moved in accordance with the rules associated with the identity of that game piece 16 in the opponent's most recent turn, the checked game piece 16 is removed from the game. In one embodiment of the present invention, if the removed game piece 16 defeated another game piece 16 in the previous turn, the previously defeated piece 16 may be returned to the game, either in the space 14 it was previously removed from or at another space 14, such as in the row of spaces 14 closest to the player, or according to any other rule agreed to by the players before the game. In another embodiment of the present invention, the previously defeated game piece 16 is not returned to the game. In the opposing scenario, where the checked game piece 16 was moved correctly in the preceding turn, the player who initiated the check move rule is forced to remove one of his or her game pieces 16 from the game. Various embodiments of this rule including removing a piece 16 of the opponent's choosing or removing a piece 16 equivalent to the piece 16 that was checked.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiment described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the present disclosure. 

1. A chess kit consisting essentially of: a substantially flat playing surface having a plurality of spaces; and a plurality of game pieces, each game piece being identical in shape and color to the other game pieces such that the game pieces are indistinguishable from one another when placed upright in a playing configuration, each piece having a marking on its bottom side with an indication of which type of chess piece the game piece has the movement characteristics of.
 2. The chess kit of claim 1, wherein the marking further indicates which player the game piece belongs to.
 3. The chess kit of claim 1, wherein the marking on the bottom side of each game piece includes a word corresponding to the type of chess piece the game piece has the movement characteristics of.
 4. The chess kit of claim 1, wherein the marking on the bottom side of each game piece includes a symbol corresponding to the type of chess piece the game piece has the movement characteristics of.
 5. The chess kit of claim 1, wherein the marking on the bottom side of each game piece comprises paint.
 6. The chess kit of claim 1, wherein the marking on the bottom side of each game piece comprises an engraving.
 7. The chess kit of claim 1, wherein each game piece is white.
 8. The chess kit of claim 1, wherein each game piece is a substantially cylindrical shape.
 9. A method for playing chess with indistinguishable game pieces, comprising: a check piece rule, wherein a player states that he or she wishes to check the identity of a particular game piece, states his or her belief as to the identity of that game piece, and loses his or her next turn if the stated belief is incorrect.
 10. A method for playing chess with indistinguishable game pieces, comprising: a check move rule, wherein a player states that he or she wishes to check the identity of the opponent's most recently moved game piece.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein if the checked game piece was not moved in accordance with the rules associated with the identity of that game piece in the opponent's previous turn, the checked game piece is removed from the game.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein if the checked piece defeated another game piece in the opponent's previous turn, the defeated game piece is returned to the game.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the defeated game piece is returned to the game on the position on the playing surface it most recently occupied.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein if the checked game piece was moved in accordance with the rules associated with the identity of that game piece in the opponent's previous turn, the player who wished to check the identity of that game piece loses a game piece of his or her own.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the lost game piece is equivalent to the piece that was checked. 